I'm not sure what I should think about her.

Some part of me wants to protect her.
Show her she isn't alone.
Anymore.
Tell her that everything's gonna be all right.
Someday.

I want to do something good, I guess. Something that makes her understand that she's safe with us.

But I don't know what.
Every time I look at her I see this fire in her eyes. This wild, desperate fire that wants to come out and burn everything down to the very ground. And that Steve saw in my eyes as well.

She wasn't brain-washed but she is afraid. And fear can do even the best people terrible things.

Kayla's story is so different from mine but also so similar.
The fire is similar.

But the problem is, that she really can burn down the world.

We hide the same fire, Hydras fire, but we have different opinions.
We are dealing with the same hell but with different devils.

"What are you thinking?", Sams asks.

Kayla who walks next to him lifts an eyebrow.
"Why do you think that he's thinking? Not sure if he can.", she says but it doesn't sound unfriendly.

I don't know how she's doing this but she's able to say every bad thing on this world and smile as it is an compliment. She's acting like we would know each other since we were children.

Maybe because she knows us longer than she knew anyone else before.

"I'm wondering what the others will say when they see her.", I answer to my friends question. "And what when they realize that we didn't finished our mission."

"Really?" Sams rolls his eyes. "That's what you're thinking about?"

Actually... no.
I'm thinking about what Kayla will say when she sees the others with their weapons and powers. We are a organization who is working with the latest technology and I'm afraid she will think that we aren't better than Hydra.

Just as she can read my mind the fire lady asks: "Wo, exactly, are the 'others'?"

"Good Guys, bad boys and broken heroes.", Sam grumbles.

She lifts an eyebrow. "And to wich group do you belong?"

I don't let my friend answer and point with my arm at my motorbike.

"Kayla? You drive with me.", I order. "Sam will fly."

I thought that she would say something. That she doesn't want to sit behind me because I'm a stranger und she treaded me like an enemy before. But she just nods her head.

"Let's go, Snowflake.", she smiles and lets me go first.

I get on the bike and try to help her, bus she ignores my hand and sits down behind me.

She tries to act brave and calm but one look into her eyes tells me that she's afraid.

Of us.

Of her.

Of what we gonna do with her.
Uhm, that sounds weird.

However: She's dangerous. And it's my job to stob her. When the fear leads her... hell, I don't even know what's gonna happen then.

But I think that Wanda can help her. Well... I hope.

"Lay your arms around me.", I say to Kayla.

She opens her mouth to disagree, closes it, nods her head.
Carefully she does what I told her.

I can feel her heartbeat through our jackets. It's running faster than Sam can fly.
I guess mine isn't slower.

Her hands at my shoulders look so ordinary but I saw fire coming out of the fingers.
When she orders new flames I will probably die. But I don't want to call the others.

We don't need help.

I don't need help.

"Do you fear me, Barnes?", I hear her voice next to my ear.

"No.", I answer a way to fast. "Snow is not afraid of fire."

That's a lie and we both know that.

But we also know also that fire is afraid of snow too.

***

Sam is flying over us. His wings make noises every time they cut the air in two parts, use the wind or fight against it.

Kayla's heart beats slower now. She lays her head at my back.
It feels like she's hugging me.

When was the last time a girl did this?

Before I went to the 107th?

Before I became the Winter Soldier?

Before I died the first time?

I really don't know. But it feels... good. Like she would trust me even if I don't.

Of course I know that she just tries not to fall but I always was good at ignoring obvious things.

I drive faster, now we are out of the forest and on an old street.

The way to our foothold isn't very long because we can take some tunnels S.H.I.E.L.D. built before the first war against Thanos.
Maybe it takes two hours, maybe just one. It feels like years because no one says a word.

Most times I like the silence but today it feel like I'm carrying a ticking bomb and every second we say nothing is one second more the bomb has to explode.

It's ridiculous, I know.

Kayla ist about 20 or 30 years old - I'm not sure - and nothing happened since her birthday. And her powers can't be stronger than Wandas.

But the fact that she was locked away her whole life...

"Stop thinking about this, Bucky!", I whisper to make my thoughts shut up.

"Did you say something?", Kayla asks and takes her head from my shoulder.

"Me? No nothing.", I lie. "Are you okay?"

She looks to the top of the tunnel where Falcon flys. He turns his head to her and smiles a little but the fire ladys just studies his wings.

"Yes, I am.", she explained after some seconds of silence and turns to me. "What about you?"

"I'm good.", I say before I even thought about the question.

It's an automatic reaction.

But then I correct myself: "Okay. I'm okay. Not good." I don't know but I don't want to lie at her like Hydra probably did.

But I don't want some questions either so I say: "In a few minutes we gonna get out of the tunnel and see our... home."

I try not to say "foothold" even if this place doesn't feel like home. Not since Steve is gone.

"Okay.", she responds and leeches on to me.

"Everything is gonna be all right.", I say because I don't want this conversation to come to an end.

"I hope so.", she grumbles but I can hear in her voice that she's smiling.

We reach the end of the tunnel and I sqinny my eyes because the sun shines so bright.

At the horizon I can see our foothold.

Sam flys a faster. He can't wait to tell the others, I guess, but I'm afraid.

I drive slower and look at Kayla.
She nod her head but in her eyes there is this well known fire.

"Everything is gonna be alright.", I repeat.

When was the last time she saw so many people as she's gonna see now?

Or people at all?

If my interpretation of her words is right she learned, that people are always bad.

Of course:

Some of them are. The members of Hydra are.

But not all. There are other humans, better humans. Humans who want to do the right thing.

"We gonna help you.", I explain.

She whispers something and I need some seconds to realize what it was.

"I don't think you can help me. Nobody can."